If you are tax resident in Norway, you must report all foreign income and assets in your tax return—including bank accounts, rental income and property in your home country. You will rarely pay double tax: tax treaties and foreign tax credits prevent this. The rules in this guide apply as of July 2026.
When do you have to pay tax to Norway on everything you own?
You become tax resident in Norway when you stay here more than 183 days during a twelve-month period, or more than 270 days during a 36-month period. You then have, under tax law § 2-1, a tax obligation to Norway for all income and assets—both in Norway and abroad. This is called global tax obligation.
Most people who move to Norway for work or family become tax resident within the first year. This status continues until the Norwegian Tax Agency (the Norwegian tax authority) approves your departure for tax purposes.
Basic rules on Norwegian tax are found in the guide your tax return in Norway. This article deals with what many people wonder about afterward: what you own and earn outside Norway.
What must you report in your tax return?
All foreign income and assets must be included in your tax return. None of this is pre-filled—you must enter it yourself:
- Foreign bank account: balance as of December 31 and interest for the entire year
- Housing, cabin or land abroad: asset value (see next section)
- Rental income from abroad: taxed in Norway as a rule at 22 percent of net income (rate as of 2026)
- Shares, funds and dividends abroad: value as of December 31, dividends and gains
- Foreign pension: amount, type and which country it comes from
Use Norges Bank exchange rates: the rate on the transaction date or the annual average for income, and the rate at year-end for assets and liabilities. Keep the documentation—the Norwegian Tax Agency may request it.
Foreign property: how it is valued
Foreign housing receives a Norwegian asset value of at most 30 percent of market value. An apartment in your home country worth 2 million kroner counts as at most 600,000 kroner in the tax return. By comparison, a Norwegian secondary residence is valued at 100 percent.
You pay wealth tax in 2026 only when net assets exceed 1,900,000 kroner (3,800,000 kroner for spouses combined). The rate is 1.0 percent, and 1.1 percent above 21.5 million kroner. Many immigrants fall below the threshold even after reporting everything abroad. Filing correctly is therefore often cheaper than people fear—and liabilities can be deducted.
Do you avoid double tax?
As a rule, yes. Norway has tax treaties with over 80 countries, and the treaties determine how double taxation is avoided:
- Foreign tax credit is the main method: the tax you have paid abroad on the same income is deducted from your Norwegian tax. You claim the credit directly in your tax return under the topic «Method for avoiding double taxation». Unused credit can be carried forward for up to five years.
- Exemption method applies to real estate in certain treaty countries, including the USA, China and Morocco. Then the property is not taxed in Norway—but you must still report it, and the deduction for interest on debt may be reduced.
You must document the foreign tax with a receipt from the tax authority in that country, in English or a Nordic language. If you pay withholding tax under the PAYE system, you normally do not file a tax return—different rules apply.
Example: How the Tax Credit Works
Imagine you rent out an apartment in your home country and have 60 000 kroner in net rental income after deducting expenses. In Norway, the tax is 22 percent of this, which equals 13 200 kroner. If you have already paid 8 000 kroner in tax on this same income in your home country, you claim a tax credit of 8 000 kroner on your tax return. Then you only pay the difference of 5 200 kroner to Norway. The calculation works the same way for interest, dividends, and pensions from abroad.
The credit can never exceed the Norwegian tax on the same income. If you paid, for example, 15 000 kroner in tax in your home country, you receive a maximum of 13 200 kroner in tax credit that year — you can carry the rest forward for up to five years. Keep your receipt from the tax authority in your home country: without documentation, you will not receive the credit.
What happens if you do not report anything?
The Norwegian Tax Agency already receives automatic information about foreign accounts. Through the international CRS agreement (Common Reporting Standard), over 100 countries exchange account data every year. For the tax year 2024, the Norwegian Tax Agency received information about approximately 1.7 million accounts belonging to roughly 800,000 people, according to the agency's press release from April 2026. Not reporting is therefore not hiding—it is waiting for a letter.
If the Norwegian Tax Agency discovers unreported income or assets, you may be subject to additional tax of 20 percent of the tax you evaded, and up to 60 percent in the case of gross negligence or intent.
There is a safe way out: voluntary disclosure. If you report it yourself—before the Norwegian Tax Agency starts an audit—you avoid additional tax and prosecution. You pay only the tax and interest, back up to ten years. For the last three tax years, you correct yourself in your tax return (self-correction). The government has proposed to tighten the scheme, so it is worth cleaning up now rather than waiting.
How to properly report foreign income
The deadline for your tax return is April 30 each year. Here is how you proceed:
- Gather documentation: bank statements, lease agreements, tax receipts and valuations from your home country.
- Convert to Norwegian kroner using Norges Bank exchange rates.
- Add the topic «Foreign income and assets» to your digital tax return and fill in each item.
- Claim foreign tax credit for tax you have paid abroad, with documentation.
- Correct previous years using self-correction or voluntary disclosure if anything is missing.
On SamfunnPrep you will find more simple guides on tax and finance, for example on deductions immigrants often forget, and free tools for newcomers. Tax and welfare are also subject matter for the citizenship exam—on SamfunnPrep you can practice for free when it suits you.
